He merely grunted indifferently. His eyes slid closed. Panicked, Kerry thought he was about to pass out.
“We go?” she said quickly.
“Go? With you? Hell no. I told you I haven’t got time even if I wanted to.”
She wet her lips frantically. What was she going to do? “Por favor.”
He focused his bleary eyes on her face, particularly on her mouth when she used her tongue to moisten her lips. His gaze moved down and remained fixedly on her breasts. Because she was so agitated and afraid that her mission would be thwarted, her breasts rose and fell rapidly beneath the tasteless dress.
Kerry didn’t know whether to be glad or frightened when she saw his eyes glaze with passion. He rubbed one hand up and down his own thigh and she knew he was thinking about touching her. All his unconscious movements were indicative of his mounting arousal. That’s what she had wanted, but it terrified her, too. She was playing with fire. If she didn’t watch it, it could burn out of her control.
Almost before she had completed the thought, his hand shot out and grabbed her around the neck. She wasn’t prepared for the sudden movement and had no time to counter it before he hauled her off the bar stool and against him.
His knees were opened. She landed against him solidly. Her breasts came only to the middle of his chest, which was as firm as it had appeared. Something hard gouged her stomach. She fervently hoped it was the butt of the pistol tucked into his waistband.
Before Kerry could get her bearings, or even gasp in astonishment, his mouth covered hers. It moved hotly and hungrily. His whiskers scraped the delicate skin around her lips, but it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation.
Every instinct urged her to resist him. But then her common sense asserted itself. She was supposed to be a prostitute soliciting customers. It wouldn’t be in character to stave off the advances of a prospective source of income.
So she let herself become pliant.
The shock of having his tongue spear through her lips almost sent her over the edge of reason. It thrust deeply into her mouth as though searching for something. Its assault was wildly erotic. Kerry’s reaction was to clutch handfuls of his shirt. His arms wrapped around her waist. He continued to kiss her, pulling her ever closer, until her back was painfully arched and she could scarcely breathe.
At last, he lifted his mouth from hers and pressed it, open, against her throat. Kerry’s head fell back and her eyes rolled toward the ceiling. The lazily circling ceiling fan made her dizzier than she already was. She felt as though she were spinning in slow, diminishing circles, and that when she reached the center of this maddening vortex, she was going to explode. Yet she was powerless to extricate herself from it.
The mercenary slid his hands below her waist. One boldly fondled her bottom. The other came around and stroked the side of her breast. Kerry endured the caresses, but her breathing was quick and shallow. He muttered something so blatantly sexual, so disturbingly accurate, she wished she hadn’t heard or understood him.
Nuzzling her neck in the sensitive spot just below her ear, he mumbled, “Okay, señorita, you’ve got a customer. Where to? Upstairs? Let’s go.”
He stood up and swayed on his feet. Kerry’s equilibrium, being what it was at the moment, forced them to cling to each other until she regained her balance.
“Mi casa.”
“Your house?” he grumbled.
“Si, si,” she said bobbing her head enthusiastically. Not giving him an opportunity to argue, she bent down and picked up one of the canvas bags at their feet. It was so heavy, it almost tore her arm from its socket. She could barely lift the bag, but managed to work the leather strap up her arm and over her shoulder.
“Jus’ leave that crap and I’ll—”
“No!” She bent down to pick up another of the three bags. In rapid Spanish, she began warning him about thieves and the danger of weapons getting into the hands of enemies.
“Stop that damned gibberish. I can’t unnerschtand... Oh, hell. I changed my mind. No time.”
“No. Back soon.”
As she bent down to assist him in picking up the last of the heavy bags, she caught his eyes on the gaping front of her dress. Though she blushed beet red, she smiled at him seductively and looped her free arm through his, pressing her breasts against his upper arm the way she’d seen prostitutes do to their customers. Mutely, he fell into place beside her.
They staggered their way through the bar, which, if anything, had become even more crowded since she had come in. The mercenary drunkenly stumbled at Kerry’s side. She nearly buckled beneath his weight combined with the heavy bag she was carrying over her shoulder. The other two were hooked over his shoulders, but he seemed impervious to them.
When they were almost to the door, a soldier who looked like he’d been weaned on nitroglycerin stumbled against her and grabbed her arm. He made an obscene proposition to her in Spanish. She shook her head vehemently and splayed her hand on the mercenary’s chest. The soldier looked ready to argue, but he happened to catch the fierce, possessive gleam in the mercenary’s eyes and wisely changed his mind.
Kerry congratulated herself for making such a good choice. Her mercenary inspired fear in even the most fearsome. No one else accosted them on their way out of the cantina.
Her lungs were starved for air, and she greedily sucked it in. The tropical air was heavy and humid, but it was brisk and bracing compared to that inside the cantina.
Kerry was grateful for it. It cleared her head. She wished she could rest, wished she could say, “Thank God that’s over.” But there was still an awesome task facing her. The pickup had been easy compared to what lay ahead.
She practically dragged her staggering escort toward the military truck, which, she was grateful to see, was still parked beneath the impenetrable shadows of an almond tree. She propped the professional soldier against the side of the Japanese-made pickup while she opened the door. The truck, having once belonged to a fruit vendor, now had the government insignia stenciled over the farmer’s logo.